


Perfect (but not)

by elfjaem



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Infidelity, M/M, hyuck likes renjun, one direction - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 10:27:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27969056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elfjaem/pseuds/elfjaem
Summary: What happens when Dream sing 'Perfect' by One Direction?orRenjun hides a secret from his friends.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 19





	Perfect (but not)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! I'm here with my second one shot, this one is shorter. I made this fic thinking about Chenle once said that they always sing 'Perfect' by 1D when they drive. At the beginning I wanted to write only about them enjoying the song, but obviously I had to add some drama! Haha, I hope you like it.  
> It would be fun if you could listen to the song while reading!  
> English is not my first language so if you see a mistake, let me know!

They always discuss what song they are going to play, but they know it is in vain. They all have the same old song in mind, the one that makes them scream and enjoy themselves. So it was enough for Haechan to shout that he already knows which one everyone will like, for them to remain silent and calm, waiting for it to start playing.

Haechan turns up the volume on his cell phone to the maximum, and Chenle and Jisung are busy rolling down the windows of the car. This is how the tradition works: Haechan plays 'Perfect' by One Direction and the youngers lower the windows so that the wind can blow on their faces. 

It feels like a movie, and they are the main characters.

The song begins to play, and Chenle and Haechan are ready to shout the song at the top of their lungs. Jisung never joins in at first, but then he always ends up getting the boys' emotion. 

But Renjun, Jaemin and Jeno are always a case apart. 

Jeno and Jaemin are always locked in their world, sitting in the back of the car and holding hands. Both of them laugh at the boys and look at them as if they were their own children —and Haechan always calls them boring because of that. Sometimes they join in and sing, but they don't go crazy like the others. They just look at each other while they sing, as if they've dedicated it to each other a million times.

And Renjun, well, Renjun doesn't like this song very much. It is good, of course that it is. One Direction is his favorite band and he loves that the boys enjoy their songs, but this song is something completely different for him.

Every song becomes different when it takes on meaning in your life. 

And it's not easy for him to have to listen to it every time the boys get into a car. It's not easy, not one bit.

It's not easy because behind that song, behind those lyrics, there's a secret in the air.

_I might never be your knight in shinin' armor_

_I might never be the one you take home to mother_

_And I might never be the one who brings you flowers_

_But I can be the one, be the one tonight_

The song finally begins, and Chenle and Haechan sing every word as if life were in it. Haechan pretends that his cell phone in his hand is a microphone, and Chenle tries to sing as high as possible, making Jisung crack up with laughter by his side. Jaemin and Jeno smile as they watch the kids have fun in the front seats. And Renjun just looks at the window trying to distract himself from the subliminal whispers the song is telling him, giving him memories that hurt him deep inside.

_When I first saw you_

_From across the room_

_I could tell that you were curious, oh, yeah_

_Girl, I hope you're sure_

_What you're looking for_

_'Cause I'm not good at making promises_

Jisung joins in the singing as he whispers the lyrics in his low voice. He looks out the window, and the wind blows his hair back. He loves that feeling, especially when he's by his best friend's side. Chenle, on the other hand, pretends to be at a concert and looks straight ahead, giving his whole soul to the song. And it all feels perfect, because of course, they're not in the back of the car.

Behind them, it is as if there were a wall between Haechan and Renjun. The first one doesn’t stop smiling and feeling himself while the wind coming from Jisung's window hits his face. And he would feel as good as the boys in front of him if it were not that the boy next to him has done nothing but leaning his head on the window and looking at the landscape outside. 

Haechan would leave him alone, but it's not something Haechan would do.

" **Renjun! Sing with me!** " Haechan shouts, trying to distract him from his thoughts.

Renjun turns his head to look at him, and cannot stop his heart from softening when he sees him smiling so enthusiastically. " **I prefer to hear you sing.** " He says softly.

_But if you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms_

_And if you like having secret little rendezvous_

_If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do_

_Then baby, I'm perfect_

_Baby, I'm perfect for you_

Jaemin and Jeno join in the singing, not letting go of their hands from the moment they got into the car. Haechan turns to look at them and smiles, because they rarely do.

And everything would be perfect, if Renjun didn’t have that secret trapped in his throat.

_And if you like midnight driving with the windows down_

_And if you like going places we can't even pronounce_

_If you like to do whatever you've been dreaming about_

_Then baby, you're perfect_

_Baby, you're perfect_

_So let's start right now_

" **I'm perfect for you, love.** " Jeno says as he approaches him for a kiss.

" **Of course you are.** " Jaemin says before joining his lips with those of his beloved. 

" **There are children here!** " Chenle shouts from the front without bothering to look back, making everyone laugh, except Renjun and Haechan. Haechan is too busy thinking about including Renjun in this mini-concert to hear what others are saying.

" **Sing.** " Haechan whispers in Renjun's ear, who takes his gaze out of the window and lays it on his lap. " **Sing with me.** " Haechan moves away a little and smiles softly at Renjun, who then plants his gaze in the eyes of the boy next to him, unable to avoid being moved by his attempts.

Maybe he should forget about it for a second. Maybe he should surrender to sing his secret.

_I might never be the hands you put your heart in_

_Or the arms that hold you any time you want them_

_But that don't mean that we can't live here in the moment_

_'Cause I can be the one you love from time to time_

Renjun finally joins in the song, and Chenle and Jisung turn to look at him, smile and applaud. Haechan smiles proudly and puts one of his arms around Renjun's shoulders, and then swings side by side.

It is fun. And it feels good to let go of his little secret, his little confession, between the lyrics of the song.

The air hits them in the faces as the car goes by, just like the rays of the next sunset. It's like a teenage movie, where everyone forgets about their problems for the minutes that the song lasts.

And the song continues, and their shouts and mumblings —however they sing the song— intertwine in the air as if the six were one, as if the whole universe stopped just to listen to them. 

Renjun lets the words simply come out of his mouth, and feels how his heart goes in them. ” ** _If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do; Then baby, I'm perfect; Baby, I'm perfect for you._** ”

The slow part of the song approaches, and Chenle gestures with his hands towards the back so that everyone is silent and relaxed. Haechan prepares for the drama, and Renjun just looks at him with a funny smile on his face. 

If it were not for Haechan, he would be completely lost. In every area.

_And if you like cameras flashin' every time we go out_

_Oh, yeah_

_And if you're looking for someone to write your breakup songs about_

_Baby, I'm perfect_

_Baby, we're perfect_

And then the boys start singing again with all the strength their bodies can exert, even more crazy than before. It's their favorite part, after all, when the song makes them feel in the clouds.

But Renjun gets carried away more than he should by the song —that is why he never sings it. 

Renjun looks subtly back, and sees Jaemin and Jeno staring at each other in loss as they whisper the song. Jaemin has his body bent over Jeno, and then comes closer and plants a kiss on his lips. Jeno then looks at the window, and while Jaemin rests his head on the shoulder of his boyfriend, he collides his eyes with those of Renjun. 

And they share their little secret.

Because Renjun knows that he will never be the one to take Jaemin home to his mother, he will never be the one to bring him flowers. Renjun never will be the hands Jaemin puts his heart in, and neither will be the arms that hold him any time he wants them.

They will always have secret little rendezvous, and will always do things that they shouldn’t do.

The secret is shared by both, and their eyes cannot deny it.

Jaemin turns his gaze to the window, and no longer smiles as he did to Jeno a few moments ago. Renjun turns around and now just looks at the window too, just as in the beginning. Because that's all he has left, after all. Watching Jaemin love another. Watching how Jaemin is in the arms of one of his best friends in the daytime, and how he can only be his at certain nights.

And then his secret is gone again when the song ends, and Chenle's high-pitched scream officially ends it.

But that's not where the secrets end, at all. Renjun is not the only one who hides mysteries. 

Haechan also hides one while he plants his eyes in those of the boy next to him, knowing the name of the person who has him in that state. Because of course, Haechan is not a fool. Obviously he knows the name of the person for whom the boy he likes sighs, obviously he knows where Renjun goes certain Saturday nights. Obviously he knows that certain marks on Jaemin's neck are not from Jeno, and that certain wounds on Renjun's lips are not caused by his own bites.

And he dies slowly when he sees that Renjun, his Renjun, prefers the complexity of an affair with Jaemin instead of kissing his lips.

But still there is another secret, and it is that even Haechan has not been able to discover it. A secret that is not revealed in words, that is not revealed in songs.

But a secret that is revealed in a glance.

In that sidelong glance that Jeno gave to Renjun after he turned around. 

Because of course Jeno knows it. Of course Jeno knows that he's not the only one who touches Jaemin's lips, that he's not the only one who leaves marks on his body.

But there they remain in the air, all the secrets that everyone in the back hides. In that song that simulates, for a moment, that their little secrets are perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Do you like it?T-T What do you think? I'd love it if you could comment! Thank you very much for reading, I love you!


End file.
